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ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Textile Industry Abbas Khan Afridi on Monday assured a textile delegation that the government would soon implement the textile package announced in the budget.
The package would be announced through Statutory Regulatory Orders (SROs), the minister said while talking to a delegation, headed by Chairman, All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma), Punjab S M Tanveer.
The SROs were sent to the Law Division for vetting, the minister said, adding it would be notified in the next few days.
The delegation met the minister to apprise him of shortage of electricity in Punjab, which led to reduction in production in textile units. The mills are operating in two shifts instead of three owing to shortage of electricity.
But the minister said that the supply of electricity to the textile mills would be improved after Ramazan.
An official statement issued after the meeting said that textile industry was in fact the bread winner for the country and the government was trying its level best to facilitate the textile sector. The government values revival of economy, therefore textile industry holds foremost importance, he added.
The minister said: “Our commitment is clearly reflected in the budget incentives announced for the textile industry.”
The delegation urged the minister to devise some way out for the ruining business at the hands of power outages.
The Aptma delegation lamented inadequate electricity supply for the last one year and the rising unemployment due to workers lay-off.
The delegation highlighted that in order to reap maximum benefits from GSP+ status, uninterrupted power supply is imperative.
The minister assured the delegation that in Ramazan loadshedding hours would be reduced to 8 hours.
The minister stated that he understands the problems faced by the textile units and that he would take up the issue with the prime minister and the minister for water and power soon.
The minister admitted that no doubt the conditions are tough but he envisages a prosperous future for the country, in general, and the textile industry, in particular, added the statement.
Published in Dawn, July 15h, 2014
